Sony Xperia C3 Full Review: A Selfie Smartphone That's More Than Just Selfies

Rating:

4.0/5

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PROS

• Great Front Camera
• Premium Build Quality
• Brilliant Battery

CONS

• Rear Camera Not Up to Mark
• Too Big in Size

What do you understand when you hear the word "selfie?" Well, according to the Oxford Dictionary, the word has been derived from the term "self-portrait" and has even been awarded with the Word of the Year for 2013.

And since a selfie deals with taking your own image with the front facing camera on your smartphone, the trend has caught on with most high-profile smartphone makers to offer a handset that will have a better front camera to fulfil all those wishes.

While there are a host of smartphones in this regard, none has made the kind of presence as the new Sony-made Xperia C3 handset. The handset has just been made to capitalize on the entire selfie trend. And if there's anything to do with a camera, who better the Sony?

A unit of the Xperia C3 has been sitting with us for quite some time now. As with other handsets, we have extensively used the handset and have even taken it out for a spin more than once. And we have quite a few things to tell about the handset, in truth.

So here is our full detailed review for the Sony Xperia C3 handset. See if it fits your bill or if you will pass up on it.

Sony Xperia C3 Full Review: Form Factor and Operating System

While the handset comes in a host of color variants, the review unit for the Xperia C3 that came to us is a black one. Although we feel the mint-colored verison of the handset has the sexiest look of all. However, a black handset adds to the charm (for me personally, and all things that are dark) and has its own special look.

Sticking to the more detailed side of things, the new C3 Dual has been designed with Sony's 'omnibalance' design style that Sony is so much in love with and used extensively in the past. Sure the entire body of the handset is made out of plastic, but it still offers a chrome trim that's placed along the sides of the handset.

Apart from the fact that the handset has quite a sturdy build and feels premium in hands, the handset may just feel a bit too big for some. Although it isn't that big in size with its 5.5-inch display, but it still feels massive when comparing to the likes of the LG G3. But that shouldn't be a problem.

The handset comes with dimensions of 56.2x78.7x7.6mm and, hence, is pretty thin. Although the size may be massive, it is still quite lightweight at just 150g. However, the handset may not be your cup of tea if you have puny hands. Believe us, we have tried!

The phone looks pretty decent overall. It has the Sony brand name sitting on top at the front on the left side of the front facing selfie camera that everyone is talking about. At the back, you will find a textured cover that will avoid the handset to fall down from your hands.

The flap covering the memory card slot is placed on the left edge along with the Micro-USB port. Apart from that, the right edge holds the dual SIM card tray, power button in the center, the volume rocker below it, and a dedicated shutter button for the camera. On the back of the device you will find the primary camera and the loudspeaker grill.

In terms of the operating system inside, Sony offers the Xperia C3 Dual with the latest Android 4.4 (KitKat) with its own customary skin slapped on top of it. But remember when we were saying that one-handed operations are impossible. Well, the phone will now offer you a certain One-handed Operations option in the settings menu.

The feature allows you two basic operations. Either to use a pattern to unlock the screen using one hand, or double tap the Home button to access notifications and settings at the bottom instead of the top. However, no split-screen mode or a windowed mode is available in this respect.